Then and Now: Kemp and Hebert’s department store

Charles Kemp and Henry Hebert opened a tiny clothing store for men on Riverside Avenue in 1891.

Both had started with nothing, working in other stores for just a few dollars a week. They decided to pool their money and open their own shop.

After Kemp and Hebert expanded to women’s wear and other dry goods, they decided to build. They purchased the corner of Washington Street and Main Avenue and erected a four-story building to house their department store. They hired contractor M.C. Murphy in 1908 to build it for $150,000.

Murphy had built the main academic building at Gonzaga College and the Columbia Building at First Avenue and Howard Street. Both Kemp and Hebert built fine homes on Sumner Avenue on the South Hill. Alongside the Crescent and the Palace, Kemp and Hebert would be among Spokane’s finest retailers.

Hebert’s plan was always to buy in bulk and deal only in cash. He would eventually open several branch stores, including in Wenatchee, Yakima and Walla Walla, with centralized buying and a warehouse in Spokane. They eventually bought out the Palace department store, which opened up a retail spot on Riverside for a newcomer, Penney’s.

Hebert was a churchgoing man who advocated high moral conduct. “I believe that nobody can attain happiness unless he lives the simple life,” he told a reporter in 1930. “Our managers are people whom I would be proud to introduce to anybody. Our men do not chew tobacco and our girls do not chew gum. We maintain a high standard among our employees and enjoy a fine morale.” His motto was: “To the timid and hesitating, everything is impossible because it seems so.”

Kemp died in the 1920s. Hebert’s health took a turn for the worse and he sold out in 1940. He died in 1941.

The empty building was used as a military office complex during World War II. The Levitch family bought the building and opened Liberty Furniture in 1944. Liberty closed in 1986 and the building was empty until the owners of Auntie’s Bookstore purchased it in 1993. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.